BC Business
Women of the Year
The runner-up of the Community Builder category of The 2023 Women of the Year Awards is Janel Casey, Fraser Health Regional Division Head for Adult Psychiatry & Royal Columbian Hospital Head of Psychiatry.
Janel Casey grew up in the rural Nova Scotia town of Digby and its population of around 2,000. “It was easier to be naturally given leadership roles and responsibilities, like coaching sports, teaching something,” she recalls.
So it was something of a huge adjustment when Casey moved to Vancouver to attend UBC at the age of 18. “The dorm I was in was over half the population of my whole town,” she says. “It took me a little time to adjust.”
But adjust she did. Casey eventually got into medical school and was in the psychiatry residency program before making her way to New Westminster, where she both lives and works as both the regional head for adult psychiatry at Fraser Health and the head of psychiatry at Royal Columbian Hospital.
Casey has been heavily involved in the redevelopment plans for Royal Columbian (the oldest hospital in B.C.), specifically in regard to its mental health building. “I got to design and develop models of care,” she says. “We more than doubled capacity in trying to keep up with the needs of the community.”
In her role, about 200 psychiatrists report to Casey, or, you know, about 10 percent the amount of people who lived in her hometown. “When you work on the front lines, you have to understand work-life balance,” Casey says. “I want to be a good role model. I have three young daughters and part of my mission is to raise them to be confident and independent women.”